Chapter 1

August 2024, in the oncology ward of a top-tier hospital.

August 1970, in the hospital ward of a factory in Beijing. Doctors and nurses were also bustling about.

In the heavens above, Lotus Fairy stood before a palace mirror, watching something intently.

…

In a four-person hospital room, every bed was occupied male, female, old, and young, one of each.

Xu Di, aged forty-four, fell somewhere in the middle. The room also housed someone close to seventy and a young woman in her twenties Xu Di was the middle-aged one.

After nearly four years of radiation and chemotherapy, her once-black hair was nearly all gone.

The excess fat she used to fret over had vanished without any effort.

“Let me see the mirror I want one last look at myself.”

At her bedside sat her 22-year-old son, Li Haoyu, who had just graduated from university in July and hadn’t yet found a job.

“Mom, the doctor said there’s still hope don’t talk like that.”

Xu Di didn’t respond. She stared into the mirror. The once-full face she had was now gaunt and sallow a face without fat was truly terrifying.

Looking through the mirror, Xu Di thought about what she looked like twenty years ago. Vaguely, she seemed to see that vibrant, beautiful young woman she once was.

Born in 1980, Xu Di didn’t get into college after high school. Unwilling to stay in her village and farm, she followed fellow villagers into the city and spent two years operating a sewing machine in a garment factory.

At 20, her brother called their parents wanted her to return home for a blind date.

She had two options: one was Wang Hui from a neighboring village, a soldier in the army.

The other was Li Kai, a civil servant from the county, with a stable job, a house, and a motorcycle.

Xu Di had always admired soldiers they seemed responsible.

But her brother, sister-in-law, and parents all believed being a military wife would be too hard soldiers were rarely home, and you couldn’t count on them in emergencies.

Young and naive, Xu Di feared the thought of a lonely home and only seeing her husband a few times a year. In the end, she chose to meet the civil servant.

The blind date was simple they met, and Li Kai was average in both looks and height.

Xu Di didn’t have a formal job, but she was over 160 cm tall and looked decent. Their first impressions were okay.

After dating for over half a year, their parents began discussing marriage. Xu Di entered married life.

After marriage, Xu Di realized Li Kai didn’t do any housework and worse, he didn’t even think he should.

Outside her job, she was responsible for cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Li Kai wouldn’t even pick up a tipped-over soy sauce bottle he’d just yell, “Xu Di, the bottle fell!”

Life was frustrating. Every argument left Xu Di fuming.

Coming from a rural family, her parents thought it was normal for men to do nothing at home. They said she was too petty Li Kai brought home his entire salary, what more did she want?

Whenever she tried to vent, she was quickly shut down.

Then came the child.

Li Kai had no concept of being a father. He’d play with their son for ten minutes at most before growing irritated.

Xu Di went through prenatal checkups alone, prepared baby supplies alone. Her mother-in-law occasionally came over, but never helped just talked.

From diapers to hospital visits, Xu Di managed everything.

She thought about divorce countless times, but her son cried, the elders persuaded her, and she had no choice.

To outsiders, Li Kai didn’t gamble or cheat, and he handed over his paycheck what a good husband!

Only Xu Di knew how bitter life was.

He was a husband and a father in name only he never fulfilled those roles.

Each argument, each bout of anger, made Xu Di’s chest ache.

Later, when smartphones became common, Li Kai’s routine became work and lying on the sofa scrolling endlessly.

Though they lived under the same roof, they barely spoke. Even their intimate life became rare and meaningless.

And so she endured. And fumed.

Until one day, she was diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer.

She had always thought her heart would fail it always hurt when she was angry. But it was her breast that betrayed her.

Surgery, radiation, chemo Li Kai used work as an excuse and pushed all responsibilities onto her parents.

After three or four years, Xu Di was exhausted. Her family was, too.

Her son had graduated. She had no more attachments.

In the final moments of her life, in the ICU, as the monitor beeped and then flatlined, Xu Di had one last thought:

If she had chosen the soldier from the neighboring village, would life have turned out differently?

Every time she pictured Li Kai slumped on the sofa glued to his phone, she wished she had raised a child alone with a husband away on duty. Anything was better than having someone physically present but utterly useless.

At least then, out of sight meant out of mind.

At the same time, in another timeline, doctors were also rushing to save a life.

“Dr. Liu, the patient has stopped breathing!”

“Let me see start emergency treatment!”

The white-coated doctor swiftly began CPR on the girl lying on the hospital bed.

Her pale face had turned bloodless. Her heart had even stopped briefly.

Inside her head, a voice called out:

“Lotus Jade Maiden, your mortal tribulation is over. It’s time to return to the Celestial Realm.”

“Lotus Jade Maiden, your mortal tribulation is over. It’s time to return to the Celestial Realm.”

…

“She’s breathing she’s breathing!”

The young nurse cried out in relief, tears welling up.

The girl was so young it would’ve been such a pity if they hadn’t saved her.

The doctor stopped and used a stethoscope to check her heart. It was still weak, but beating again.

“Everyone clear out and let her rest. Nurse Wang, stay with her. Ask about her family later and contact them ASAP.”

“Understood, Dr. Liu.”

Nurse Wang wiped her eyes, touched the girl’s forehead. Thankfully, no fever.

But the girl on the bed she wasn’t the same person anymore.

Xu Di had arrived just in time to hear the line: “Lotus Jade Maiden, your mortal tribulation is over. It’s time to return to the Celestial Realm.”

She had thought, Am I dreaming after death? Did I wander into some fantasy drama in the afterlife?

Then, she felt herself pulled by a strange force. Pain bloomed in her chest someone was performing CPR.

Images flooded her mind:

The dazzling Celestial Realm, breathtaking palaces, beautiful immortal maidens, and golden boys and jade girls serving them.

An old-school apartment building. A girl with braided pigtails.

The Jade Maiden, punished for breaking a glass goblet, sent to the mortal world to endure hardship.

A baby girl born with a cry. Her first steps. Kindergarten. Elementary school. Middle school. High school.

…

Xu Di felt like she had watched two very different movies one fantasy, one historical.

“Miss, how do you feel now? Can you speak? Where is your family from? Which work unit are your parents with? I’ll call them for you  your clothes are still wet.”

The smiling nurse looked at her kindly, but Xu Di was still dazed.

“Beijing Hongxing Machinery Factory. My father is Xu Dapeng. Phone number…”

Xu Di didn’t feel like she was the one speaking, yet her mouth had moved.

Her heart was in chaos. She closed her eyes, trying to sort it all out  What exactly is going on?